I have heard rumors that Plainfield's Muhlenberg Hospital may have a buyer, and I'm wondering what shape the solution might take. The one shaping up for Paterson's Barnert Hospital may give a clue.
When I reported last month on the decision by Solaris to sell the hospital (see more here), it seemed to me that there might be a silver lining, as a JFK-Muhlenberg marriage had so obviously been a top-to-bottom mismatch.
Not long after, the Bergen Record ran an analytical compare-and-contrast piece on two hospitals in their readership area: Pascack Valley in affluent Westwood, a Bergen County suburb; and Paterson's Barnert in urban Passaic County (see story here).
By the Record's lights, the state was willing to guarantee a monthly cash advance on charity care costs to Barnert because of its tremendous charity care burden -- 'a lifeline for the indigent', as the story put it -- while hoping the hospital could work out a rescue plan. The story's headline said the rest: "Lack of charity care doomed Pascack Valley hospital".
Seems to me there are some similarities between the Barnert and Muhlenberg situations, and that the answer is finding a buyer who understands providing hospital services IN AN URBAN SETTING.
I pointed out that Montclair had found such a buyer for its Mountainside Hospital in the Lousville-based Merit Health Systems LLC which closed that deal this past June.
Today's Herald News reveals that Barnert has reported to the bankruptcy court that a best-of-three offer has come from Hospital Associates, LLC (see story here). The group, about which no details were disclosed (go ahead, try to Google them!), seems to be Philadelphia-based, and offered an undisclosed sum.
But they intend to run Barnert as a for-profit, acute care hospital.
There are differences -- Barnert is in bankruptcy, Muhlenberg is not.
And Muhlenberg has a number of assets that should make it attractive to a buyer --
- An up-to-date facility with modern equipment and systems;
- The new Harold B. and Dorothy A. Snyder School of Nursing;
- A nationally top-rated Coronary Intervention program (which beat out Overlook, Mountainside and Somerset Medical in HealthGrades® recent national rankings);
- A nationally commended Cancer Care program;
- Bariatric Surgery and Wound Care specialties; and
- Community goodwill -- which has enabled the hospital to raise hundreds of millions of dollars over the years through the Muhlenberg Foundation and the activities of the Muhlenberg Auxiliary.
Stay tuned.
- Plainfield Today (11/16/2008): "Muhlenberg sale: A blessing in disguise?"
- Herald News (12/21/2007): "Barnert top bidder plans for-profit, acute care hospital"
- Bergen Record (12/09/2007): "Lack of charity care doomed Pascack Valley hospital"
- Muhlenberg: "Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center"
- Barnert: "The Barnert Hospital"
-- Dan Damon
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